Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Communications
Israel's postal service is generally
efficient, but letters to Europe
and North America can still take
a week or more to arrive. This,
however, is quicker than the
Jordanian or Egyptian postal systems, which are highly
unpredictable. Calling overseas is very straightforward
from Israel, and it is similarly easy to call overseas in
Sinai, but telephone communications from Jordan are
considerably more complicated, and expensive.
PUBLIC TELEPHONES
IN JORDAN AND SINAI
Jordan's telephone network
is creaky, but it is in the
process of being upgraded.
International calls can be
made from public cardphones,
for which the cards are pur-
chased from nearby shops.
However, phonecards for
international calls only come
in the denomination of JD 15.
A better option is to use one
Israeli post office logo
A
of the many unofficial tele-
phone bureaus, where you
write the number you want
on a piece of paper and the
desk clerk makes the call.
These calls are charged by
the minute and, with a great
many offices competing for
custom, rates are reasonable.
The Egyptian telephone
network in Sinai also uses
phonecards. These come in
denominations of LE 15,
20 or 30 and they can be
bought at post offices.
PUBLIC TELEPHONES
IN ISRAEL
Israel's public telephones are
almost all operated by the
national phone company,
Bezek. They take prepaid
phonecards, which are sold at
post offices, shops and lottery
kiosks. They are available in
denominations of 20 units (13
NIS), 50 units (29 NIS) or 120
units (60 NIS). Calls made
from 10pm to 1am and all day
Saturday and Sunday are 25
per cent cheaper than the
standard rate. Calls made
between 1am and 8am are
50 per cent cheaper. To dial
abroad using Bezek, the inter-
national access code is 014.
Bezek competes for custom
with other telephone compa-
nies, including Golden Lines
(012 to dial abroad) and Barak
(013 to dial abroad). These
rival services are often cheaper
than Bezek, although it does
depend on the country you
are calling. You can also
make discounted calls from
Solan Telecom, whose offices
are found throughout Israel.
POSTAL SERVICES
Using Israeli post offices is
a very straightforward
procedure. The exception is
if you are sending parcels or
bulky items; this entails a
series of security inspections.
When it comes to posting
letters, the yellow post boxes
are for local correspondence
and the red are for the rest
of country and abroad. Post
offices are open in the
mornings and evenings, and
are shut in the
middle of the day,
the afternoons and
Tuesday. Postal
rates vary according
to the type of post
and its weight, but
a standard airmail
letter to Europe
or the US costs the
equivalent of half
a USdollar.
The Palestinian
Authority also has
its own postal
service, and issues
its own stamps, but it is not as
efficient as the Israeli service.
A letter posted in Jordan
Israeli telephone
and phonecards
Visitors can rent mobile
phones on arrival at Ben
Gurion Airport. Rental rates
start at about US$1 per day.
Israel's mobile network does
not have reciprocal roaming
arrangements with many
countries. Anyone who plans
to take their mobile with
them should check with their
home service whether it can
be used in Israel.
PUBLIC TELEPHONES
IN THE PALESTINIAN
TERRITORIES
Red Israeli
post box
In the west bank and Gaza
Strip, the Palestinians have
their own telephone network
with their own phonecards.
These Palestinian phonecards
can be purchased in Arab
post offices and some shops.
They cannot, at present, be
used in Israeli phones.
A
can take anything up to two
weeks to reach Europe and a
month to the US. It can help
to speed things up if you post
An Israeli lottery kiosk, where
phonecards can also be bought
